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LECTURE-13

Egypt: The New Kingdom


Around 1720 BCE, the Nile Delta was invaded and occupied by the Hyksos, who ruled Lower Egypt from their
capital, Avaris, until driven out by Ahmose I of Thebes in 1567 BCE.
The return of stability in Egypt meant the vigorous trade in goods on which so many Near Eastern societies
depended could recommence. Furthermore, with the troubles in Mesopotamia and the decline of the Minoans,
Egypt began to dominate the region.
An important change that came with the reestablishment of unity
involved religion: no longer only the purview of the elite, it now
comprised larger sections of society.
Festivals, processions, and celebrations that could draw
thousands of participants were introduced. Two types of Temples:
The New Kingdom saw the rise of large temple institutions that
played an important part in the life and politics of the times. 01. MORTUARY TEMPLE
For Ministration to the defied Pharaohs.
WASET (THEBES) Developed from the offering chapels of
capital of Egypt was Thebes the Mastabas and Royal Pyramids.
Amun-Ra national deity
At least a dozen temples were built over a fivehundred-year 02. CULT TEMPLE
period, from about 1500 BCE to 1000 BCE. For Worshiping the multifarious local
Rulers built and extended temple complex deities.
- Queen Hatshepsut
- Thutmosis I Different Parts of Egyptian Temples:
- Amenhotep III Entry Gate (Pylon)
- Seti I Palisaded Court
- Ramesses II Vestibule/ Hypostyle Hall
Some sixty festivals were celebrated in Thebes annually. The three Sanctuary
most important of these traveling festivals involved Amun; his wife pylon-large entry tower palisade-Surround with a wall in
Mut, the Egyptian mother goddess; and Muts son Khonsu, the order to fortify
lunar deity.
The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Der el Bahari, Thebes 1520 BC

Hatshepsut, daughter of Thutmosis I, the


fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty,
was a charismatic and controversial figure
in her role as a female monarch.
She ruled for twenty years, during a
particularly strong moment in the Egyptian
economy.
The temple, built by Senmut, her architect,
went against the tradition of enclosed
precincts.
It combined mortuary temple, processional
way, rock-cut tomb, and ancillary chapels
into one synthetic unity with no parallel in
Egyptian architecture.
Architect_ Senmut.
Place of Burial Lay Far Away in a corridor
(500) tomb in the mountains beyond.
Solely a mortuary temple; also dedicated
to Ammon and other gods.
Terraces at three levels, double
colonnade; approached by ramps.
Upper terrace is a walled court, double
colonnaded, flanked on the left by queens
mortuary templr, and on the right by a
minor court containing enormous altar to
the sun god RA
Surface relief.
Columns having 8-16 sides
The Great Temple of Ammon/ Amun ( The Sun God),
Karnak, Thebes 1530-323 BC

Greatest of all Egyptian temple


Originally it was a modest shrine (Middle
kingdom 2000 BC)
Building proper 1200X360
SURROUNDING WALL 20-30 THICK
Immense enclosure with a sacred lake
Connected to temple of Luxor with a avenue of
sphinxes
6 pairs of pylon by different king in different time
Great court 328X275 before HYPOSTYLE HALL
338x170 HYPOSTYLE HALL
16 ROW OF 134 COLUMN
Central bay column 69 high 11 9 dia
Side column 426 high 8 9 dia
Papyrus flower or bell type capital
Obelisks-A stone pillar having a rectangular cross section tapering
towards a pyramidal top
Sphinx- One of a number of large stone statues with the body of a lion
and the head of a man that were built by the ancient Egyptians
TEMPLE OF LUXOR
One enters the Temple of Luxor through a
rhomboid-shaped courtyard, built later by
Ramesses II, that leads to a passageway
of two rows of seven impressively scaled
columns 21 meters high.
That space opens to a court and a
hypostyle hall, and finally to the sanctuary
itself.
A series of successively smaller
telescoping rooms then leads to the
sanctuary, where the barque was stored.
From a door to the left, one gained access
to the hall placed at right angles to the
axis, which was defined as the mythical
place of the path of the sun.
Three doors opened to rooms, one for
each of the cult images of the divine triad:
Amun; his spouse, Mut, the mother of
gods; and their son, the moon god
Khonsu. They all gathered here during
the Beautiful Feast of the Valley.
The temple is not axially aligned but follows
the gentle easterly bend of the processional
route, as it was extended in later building
campaigns farther and farther toward the
north.
Egyptian temples, unlike Mesopotamian
templesor even later, Greek and Roman
templeswere not conceived as finalities.
Instead, they could grow, be
changed, get rebuilt, and even be allowed to
decay over time.
In the case of Luxor, rulers added courts and
hypostyle halls as indications of their support
and patronage.
The Amun-Re Temple, for example, grew
steadily toward the Nile, with new gateways
being added and others redesigned.
Ramesses II (12901224 BCE) was a pragmatic ruler
who extended the sphere of Egyptian influence
from the upper valleys of the Euphrates to the
fourth cataract of the Nile.
Nubian gold from the mines of Wabi el-Allaqui
swelled his coffers.
To protect the trade routes, he built a series of
temple outposts that also served to spread
Egyptian cosmological beliefs.

The Great Temple of Abu Simbel, Nubia


Rock hewn temple by RAMESES II
Entrance forecourt to imposing faade 119
wide 105 high formed like pylon
4 colossal statue 65 high
A hypostyle hall beyond 30 high with 8 column
8 smaller chamber not symmetrical
colored wall relief
central sanctuary
3 small chamber in the back
On the interior, the temple contains two pillared halls, storage
rooms, and a sanctuary deep in the rock.
The 10-meter-high walls are mainly covered with scenes and
inscriptions relating to the kings military exploits against the
Hittites and against the Kushites in Nubia.
The axis ends in the sanctuary on the west wall with a row of four
seated statues of Ptah, Amun, Ramesses, and Re-Harmachis.
The small altar in front of them is where sacrifices were made
when the light of the rising sun illuminated the sanctuary at dawn.

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